The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of a cleaning device for cleaning sensing or sensor rollers and also pertains to a new and improved method of cleaning such sensing or sensor rollers with the aid of such cleaning device.
Generally speaking, the inventive cleaning device or apparatus serves for cleaning the sensing or sensor rollers of a sensor roller pair which serve to measure the thickness of a fiber sliver and to produce a signal proportional to such thickness of the fiber sliver. The end faces of these sensor rollers lie in mutually parallel planes and such sensor rollers are appropriately biased towards each other at a variable, mutual spacing. In this cleaning device the fiber sliver runs between the peripheral or circumferential surfaces of the sensor rollers and is thus subjected to a pressure at a predetermined pressure position. Flange-like ring discs or rings on the end faces of the sensor rollers collectively form a groove at the pressure position. For purposes of cleaning these peripheral or circumferential surfaces of the sensor rollers a respective cleaning device or scraper means is provided for each of such sensor rollers.
In British Pat. No. 1,193,437 there have been disclosed rollers by means of which seeds or other foreign materials or contaminants contained in a web of textile fibers are crushed, and thereby the removal of such contaminants or impurities from the web is facilitated. Scraper blades are provided for cleaning of the roller surfaces. These scraper blades continuously engage the peripheral surfaces of the rollers.
British Pat. No. 2,071,723 relates to a scraper arrangement in which a blade engages the associated roller to be scraped due to the weight of the scraper arrangement. The scraper arrangement is liftable away from the roller by rotation about an axis disposed parallel to the roller. The arrangement includes a plurality of pivot plates by means of which, in conjunction with an air cushion, there is achieved adaptation of the blade to unevenness of the roller surface.
The above British Patents relate to rollers which do not have flanges and which do not perform a measuring function.